Well I did pick up the new Aeldari Codex Saturday... I've really only had the briefest of looks through it.
(TL/DR: Eldar being reorganized, stay tuned for pictures later this week, maybe)
There are things I like about it, so far.
Others... well...
I DO like that the Assuryani and Harlequins and Ynarri and Corsairs are all included in this book. And it looks like there is lots of cool new stuff for narrative Cursade Campaigns.
There have been some changes to the troop types, however, that are going to throw a BIG OL' SPACE WRENCH into my traditional force composition!?
A LOT of my troops have suddenly become "Elites" in the new codex. I now have a FEW TOO MANY Elites and not enough Headquarters... or... other stuff... Are least not to field proper core detachments (the ones that refund you the Command Cost of the detachment if your warlord is included in it)...
Warlocks went from being Headquarters to Elites...
Dire Avengers went from being TROOPS to being Elites...?
Wraithlords went from being HEAVY SUPPORT to being Elites!?
Ugh... it's the 8th Edition Astra Militarum Codex all over again. (or was it 7th when the basic Troop element went from being an entire PLATOON to a single infantry squad and EVERYTHING ELSE in the platoon became separate Elite elements!?)
So... for headquarters... you can now have Farseers.. Autarchs... the GIANT FREAKING AVATAR OF KHAINE... and Phoenix Lords.... In the fluff, these are all commanders of entire ARMIES!?
If you want a small, up-to-platoon-sized Patrol Detachment, it's going to be a Farseer, Autarch or PHOENIX LORD leading it!?
If you're wanting to field something between a platoon and company sized force (a "Battalion" detachment), you're going to need at least TWO of them.
If you want a full-sized/reinforced Company sized force ("BRIGADE" Detachment) you will need at least three!?
They really seem to want to turn the game into HIGH POWERED HEROES leading around a small host of... other things... and it'll probably come down to a throw-down between those heroes...?
All we need is CHALLENGES to return. Remember those? Maybe it wasn't a thing in 40K, but I'm pretty sure it was a thing in Warhammer Fantasy where your general could issue a challenge to the opposing general, if they were within a certain distance and the whole battle would stop and the two would fight their own little duel and the winners army would gain a huge morale boost and the losers army would melt away... and if you didn't accept the challenge, pretty much the same thing happened anyway...? Was that Warhammer Fantasy? Am I thinking of something else...?
I digress...
Then there are the Dire Avengers. Aspect Warriors are the Professional Warriors of the Craftworlds, and Dire Avengers are the bog-standard, Shurican-Catapult-armed-shooty-bang-bang, foot soldier of the Aspect Warriors. These used to be TROOPS. They made up the core of the warfighting professionals. Well now they are ALSO ELITES...
Troops now have to be made up of Guardians (either Guardian Defenders or Storm Guardians), Rangers or Corsairs. Guardians have been, for the last few editions, just citizens of the craftworlds, that have taken up arms in dire times - usually to defend the craftworld itself!? Rangers are outcasts that technically don't even belong to a Craftworld anymore, wanderers, doing their own thing, but are sometimes called upon to show up on a battlefield if they happen to be in the area or have some specific knowledge and are leading the rest of the army to an objective...
And then there are the Corsairs - Pirates, that are DEFINITELY NOT part of a craftworld (can can't even be used to fulfill the basic troops requirement, so it's really just Defenders and Rangers...)
Finally Wraithlords... These three hard-hitting, muthafukkin' wriathbone constructs powered by souls of dead Eldar, pretty much WERE my Heavy Support (along with a single unit of three Dark Reapers) now they are Elites... and each has to be fielded as a separate until
So...
I went from having 4-6 units of elites (once all the minis I have are painted), depending on whether two options are fielded as two units of five or a single ten (all being easily fit into a Battalion or Brigade Detachment). Now I will have 10-18 units when everything is painted (again, depending on whether units are fielded as multiple units of less than maximum size or a smaller number of units at their maximum size. EVEN IF they were fielded at MAXIMUM SIZE, I have TOO MANY for even a BRIGADE Detachement (the largest Core Detachment) and no longer have enough Heavy Support options to field a Brigade...
I know... I know... WHO CARES!? I could just play Open War games with forces designed around scenarios and completely ignoring "battle-forged" force compositions...
I do like the idea of being able to field a force that actually conforms to the current rules (but that also fits a narrative and "makes sense" fluff-wise) - just in case I actually played against... someone else outside of my home... or in a league... or if I went to a tournament again someday...
I'm not crying or making any sort of claim that GW is just doing it to fuck over the older players and making us buy more toys... I can even kind of understand why they made some of those changes. Some having to do with changing fluff as the narrative of the 41st millenium continues to develop... Some having to do with aesthetics and style of play... Its just annoying to have to try and make the shift... I'm NOT going to have to run out any buy ANYTHING new... I just won't be using some units as much as I might have... and other units I thought would only be used in scenarios, if it fit the narrative, are now going to be staples in the army (Guardians).
So given the current situation, what CAN I do...
Here's what I have painted (or... very nearly painted!):
- Farseer x1 - Headquarters
- Guardian Defenders x10 (one unit of 10 with weapons platform) - Troops
- Rangers x15 (2-3 units of 5-10) - Troops
- Warlock Conclave x2 (one conclave of two) - Elites
- Dire Avengers x20 (2-4 units of 5-10) - Elites
- Howling Banshees x10 (1-2 units of 5 or 10) - Elites
- Wraithguard x5 (one unit) - Elites
- Wraithlords x 3 (3 individual units) - Elites
- Warp Spiders x10 (1-2 units of 5-10)
- Dark Reapers x4 (one unit - need one more to make COMPLETE unit of 5) - Heavy Support
This totals about 96 Power Level. With this what can I field...? A Patrol Detachment! (like the 25-Power Level Biel-Tymm Patrol Detachment I put together last September to potentially start a .. but with a bit of a different make up)
A Patrol Detachment includes
- 1-2 Headquarters
- 1-3 Troops
- 0-2 Elites
- 0-2 Fast Attack
- 0-2 Heavy Support
- 0-2 Flyers
- (up to one dedicated Transport for each Infantry unit taken)
The Farseer will now be my only Headquarters.
Currently, Rangers will fill the Troops requirement - 1-3 units of 5 or 10 - They've increased from a Power Rating of 3 per five rangers to 4. I COULD include the Guardians... but I feel like a Combat Patrol, lead by a Farseer, should be made up of professional warriors, not cooks and poets and janitors pressed into service as "Guardians"
A maximum of two Elites could be chosen from Dire Avengers or Howling Banshees or Wraith Guard or Wraithlords (though the Wraithlord has also increased in Power Rating)...
Warp Spiders could be taken as a Fast Attack Option
Dark Reapers could be taken as Heavy Support... but the unit is now understrength so I probably won't be taking them at all for a while until I can source one more...
A few options for 25 Power Level Combat Patrols:
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Warlocks (2) - Elites - PR 3
- Warp Spiders (5) - PR5
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Dire Avengers (10) - Elites - PR6
- Wraithguard (5) - Elites - PR10
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Warlocks (2) - Elites - PR 3
- Wraithlord (1) - Elites - PR8
- Warp Spiders (5) - PR5
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Wraithlord (1) - Elites - PR8
- Wraithlord (1) - Elites - PR8
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Howling Banshees (10) - Elites - PR8
- Wraithlord (1) - Elites - PR8
To field ANY larger force, I would now have to finish up the other Farseer that I have (and/or the model I'm hoping I can pass off an Autarch). With that, however, I could instantly field a Battalion Detachment, which increases the number of Elites I can field to six... which, could be MOST of the ones I currently have painted... but not all. Even fielded at their maximum sizes, I'd have EIGHT Elite units: Warlocks (2), 2x Dire Avengers (10), 1x Howling Banshees (10), 1x Wraith Guard (5), 3x Wraithlords (1)
Incursion Level (Power Level 50) Battalions could look like:
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Warlock (1) - Elites - PR 2
- Wraithguard (5) - Elites - PR10
- Wraithlord (1) - Elites - PR8
- Wraithlord (1) - Elites - PR8
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Guardian Defenders (10 + Weapons Platform) - Troops - PR5
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Rangers (5) - Troops - PR4
- Warlocks (2) - Elites - PR 3
- Dire Avengers (10) - Elites - PR6
- Dire Avengers (10) - Elites - PR6
- Howling Banshees (10) - Elites - PR8
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Farseer (1) - Headquarters - PR 5
- Guardian Defenders (10 + Weapons Platform) - Troops - PR5
- Rangers (10) - Troops - PR8
- Rangers (10) - Troops - PR8
- Rangers (10) - Troops - PR8
- Warlocks (5) - Elites - PR 5
- Howling Banshees (10) - Elites - PR8
- Wraithguard (5) - Elites - PR10
- Wraithlord (1) - Elites - PR8
- Wraithlord (1) - Elites - PR8
- Warp Spiders (10) - PR10
- Swooping Hawks (5) - PR4
I COULD have fielded a Brigade Detachment in the past - once everything was painted (or even just a few more units were painted) but now I'm going to have a hard time making up that minimum three Heavy support requirements... I'd need second unit of Dark Reapers or another War Walker - if I'm wanting to keep it all METAL...
Maybe I'll just stick to big battalions and be limited to six Elites - three of whom will be Wraithlords.
What I WILL have when all the stuff I currently have squirrelled away is painted...
- Farseer x2 - Headquarters
- Autarch x 1 - Headquarters
- Jain Zar (Phoenix Lord) - Headquarters
- Fuegan (Phoenix Lord) - Headquarters
- Baharroth (Phoenix Lord) - Headquarters
- Karandras (Phoenix Lord) - Headquarters
- Guardian Defenders x20 (two units of 10) - Troops
- Rangers x30 (3-6 units of 5-10) - Troops
- Warlocks x5 (one conclave of up to five) - Elites
- Dire Avengers x20 (2-4 units of 5-10) - Elites
- Howling Banshees x10 (1-2 units of 5 or 10) - Elites
- Striking Scorpions x 10 (1-2 units of 5 or 10) - Elites
- Fire Dragons x 5 (1 unit of five - unless I find three more) - Elites
- Wraithguard x5 (one unit) - Elites
- Wraithlords x 3 (3 individual units) - Elites
- Warp Spiders x20 (1-4 units of 5-10) - Fast Attack
- Swooping Hawks x5 (1 unit of five - unless I find one or two more I need to make 10) - Elites
- Dark Reapers x4 (one unit - need one more to make COMPLETE unit of 5) - Heavy Support
- War Walker x1 (on unit) - Heavy Support
- Eldrad Ulthran - Headquarters - 8 PR
- Guardian Defenders (10 + weapons platform) - Troops - 5 PR
- Guardian Defenders (10) - Troops - 4 PR
- Corsair Voidscarred (10) - Elites - 8 PR
Posts
I do think the trend is more Elites, without them the troops have a hard time unless they are boosted by HQ and/or stratagems. I mean there is an argument to be made that Dire Avengers be troops, but maybe a dying race has few of anything so their most numerous unit is the cooks and artists. I've only played 25 PL combat patrol games and most of my models stay in the display case. I'm open to adapting my army to the rules, but it takes time and money, especially if you insist on having an all metal army. From what I've seen of my faction used online, people often take the least troops they can and then max out on Elite and HS or I guess Fast Attack. Taking boring troops is not popular and likely don't sell, giant hero models must sell and be more profitable because I swear every Death Guard army I see online is lead by Mortirion or Typhus. And when they are not in charge it is usually some daemon prince or other named daemon.
ReplyDeleteFor sure.
DeleteOne of the things I LOVE about 9th edition is that they actually considered play at different Power Levels - you can play a small 25 Pl game and it works and doesn't feel like it was an afterthought... Most of the games I've played over the last few years have been that size as well. If small games are a thing - why not allow for some junior commanders!? Why does EVERY force have to be led by an army commander or Daemon Prince!?
I get that the Eldar are dying - and that's exactly what I meant by "having to do with changing fluff as the narrative of the 41st millennium continues to develop..." I just liked it when you had the Option of playing either a force of professional warfighters going out on an operation to deal with a thing OR use Guardians as a last ditch defence of a Crone World or some such. And, I still CAN, if I want to use a Vanguard detachment...? I just get less command points...
I do not have the codex (yet?) but I have read a bunch of reviews of the book, so I have a few thoughts. One is that you get a "slotless" warlock for each farseer, so that's a way to get someone else in there without wasting an elite slot. Second is that Harlequins basically can slot into your regular army or be their own thing (for bonuses). Some have suggested using Harli leaders, since they are cheaper.
ReplyDeleteI think there are detachments that are elite heavy, so you could do that for the "more aspects". I believe that the overall idea for 9th edition is to have multiple detachments in your one army, so you can get various benefits.
Anyway, as for my own stuff, I have a similar problem with the Dire avengers becoming elite and necessitating another troop unit (just much smaller scale than your 1000 powerpoints ;) ). I have another guardian squad on the sprue, and I think I will get the new box as well(and probably rangers and corsairs too), so that will sort me out eventually, but it will take more painting than I planned!
Like many, I like "core heavy" armies, since I think that they are both the most logical and the most flexible with edition changes.
Oh! I havn't found the thing about warlocks and Farseers - I will have to have a look - as I said, I've had only a cursory look at it, so far...
DeleteIn the previous edition you got Command points per detachment in a Battle-Forged army, and so they found people were taking as many minimally manned battalions as they could (the "loyal 27" showed up in every Imperial Knights army - three squads of Guard infantry and two captains - just to generate command points). Ended up with a lot of "soup" lists - mish-mashes of every-damned-thing.
In Ninth you get command points depending on the size of battle and each detachment costs you command points - so you can still run soup lists - with lots of different detachments, each with it's own specific advantages but - those players are going to have less command points to play with during the game when playing against someone that takes ONE detachment of a single faction...
While some troops from different factions or factions can be included in the same detachment, it usually comes at the cost of losing some detachment ability that is only available if everything in the detachment is of the same sub-faction...?
Maybe it's the Ynarri they're talking about that can mix up EVERYTHING - but they have their OWN faction abilities, that are different from the various Craftworld, Harlequin troupe, and Drukhari faction abilities...
I, too, like core troops - for the very reason you point out, USUALLY it isn't messed up when changes happen with each edition... except when what WAS core troops suddenly becomes elites and the other, lesser core troops become the only core troops... Ah, well...
Yeah, the soup stuff is a big mess that seems to have been mostly cleared up in 9th, but I think that the harlequins count as "aeldari" unless you have only harlequins. So you do not lose your craftworld bonuses, and gain the use of the harlequin units (most particularly the cheap warlord). Might cost you CP though, not sure.
DeleteYnarri are basically apparently best thought of as their own craftworld, and unlike in 8th, they have a lot more restrictions on which Dark/Light mixes they can use.
It all sounds interesting but it's why I gave up on 40k, I'd just finish painting an army, a new codex would come out, half of what I had I couldn't use and it was just a bit depressing as it seemed like wasted time, I love the sculpts and the fluff, it's just the game and release strategy I had issues with!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Well, it's not all that bad... There's nothing I can't use at all. I just can't use ALL of it together, all the time...
DeleteSometimes I feel like the hype train and release schedule can be a bit much... But recently it's occurred to me that, if 40K was the ONLY game one played (and for many it is!) and you only played ONE faction (like many people do), it's probably not all that big of a deal. It's only idiots like me that can't decide and focus and have FIVE 40K armies on the go - not to mention all the OTHER GAMES AND INTERESTS... That's when it all gets to be a bit much...